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Episode 38: Reboot and Heavy Metal

Today’s very special episode of Animation Aficionados is a 2-in-1! We had two episodes with a short running time, so we just smooshed them together.

In the first episode, Fes of Webcast Beacon joins us to talk about Reboot, the first ever totally CGI program produced for television. Part way through the show, JT from Saskatoon joins us to give the kanuck perspective on this Canadian production.

We then shift gears completely and talk about Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000, side-by-side! Hal Hefner joins us for the second segment as we look back on an awesome movie and its mediocre sequel. We talk about awesome music, hot chicks, and exploding doll houses!

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8 thoughts on “Episode 38: Reboot and Heavy Metal”

Before anyone slays me about the above comparison, let me ask this. If it’s okay to make a negative critique of a TV show, movie, or video game that has aged badly, then why should we give Reboot a pass? Because it’s historically significant? I don’t think so.

The thing is, as a story, I think Reboot is okay. As a piece of animation, I think it’s wildly overrated. The fact that it was first and they had to build the software from scratch means nothing. That’s not a reason for recommending it to someone.

I’m not trying to drag Reboot down to the level of Heavy Metal 2000. I think we can all agree that it’s a far better product. But I don’t think that it’s unfair to compare the CG animation. Likewise, I don’t think that it’s unfair to compare the CG to the cut scenes of Final Fantasy VII. It’s become somewhat in vogue to take shots at CG cut scenes of the PlayStation era Final Fantasy games, but god forbid anyone make an equivalent remark about Reboot.

First of all; how the hell could you have NOT mentioned that the reason Julie Strain was in Heavy Metal 2000 was most likely because she was married to Heavy Metal magazine Editor in Chief, Kevin Eastman?

And the statement that the original Heavy Metal was the first american animation to bring boobs, blood, etc. to the big screen? Really? Never heard of Ralph Bakshi?

I thought we did mention Julie Strain being married to Kevin Eastman, but maybe it either got cut or isn’t audible in the episode. I was certainly aware of it, because it had been mentioned in the “Carl Macek Interview Of Doom” that was produced by the Space Station Liberty podcast several years back. Carl Macek was peripherally involved in the making of Heavy Metal 2000.

We had a lot of technical problems with that Heavy Metal episode, which contributed to it being merged with another episode. There was about two minutes of stuff with Hal that I just had to cut because I couldn’t understand what the hell he was saying.

That’s interesting. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll put it on the Facebook page.

I guess it’s going to be a whole new series. That much is good. It would have been a really bad idea to make more episodes in the continuity of the old show. New audiences wouldn’t go for that.

But also on that note, I always make the wrinkled-nose expression of confusion whenever old forgotten properties like this are revived. The property itself has virtually no meaning in today’s marketplace. It’s being reimagined for an audience that has largely never even heard of it.

I suppose it’s to capitalize on the investment of their trademark, which I find to be, more than anything else, the absolute death of creativity. Every artist has his or her own ideas, and I can only imagine how frustrating it is to constantly be asked to resurrect and adapt someone else’s ideas from a few decades ago.

As for the audience that actually remembers Reboot, all this is going to do is to fuel comparisons between the old and new show, which is fine to a certain degree. It’s always fun to contrast different interpretations. But knowing how media companies think, the new Reboot is almost certainly going to be a series of homages to the original show, which undermines such comparisons in the first place, as it conflicts with the identity of the new show.

But maybe it won’t be like that. I don’t know.

All I’m saying is that I’m getting tired of franchise reboots (no pun intended) that can’t move forward because they’re shackled to the past.